


Taako the Matchmaker

by blueshine



Series: Lup and Taako Destroy Each Other's Boyfriends [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Matchmaking, Miscommunication, Spoilers for Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, The Starblaster crew is just kind of in the background whoops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-08 20:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12872283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueshine/pseuds/blueshine
Summary: In which Taako tries to set up his sister. Events take place during Stolen Century.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm actually reuploading this from my tumblr, so you may have seen the first five chapters before!

“It’s been four years, why haven’t you made out with my sister yet?”

Barry  _was_  having a perfectly pleasant night working through a cipher until a drunk Taako came in and crawled in between his desk and bed. Tight fit. Intimidation tactic. Taako was all limbs, and each were splayed out in a different direction. He swirled a beer bottle in his hand as if it were wine.

“I–hold on, this is about the beach, isn’t it?” Barry asked. Neither of them had brought up their talk at the beach yet. Or, at least, Barry hadn’t. Taako had been trying to corner him for the better part of this year, but hadn’t been able to find a private space to speak to Barold alone. But now, he cornered the nerd with his notes. “I mean, you kind of…you already gave me advice. And it was great! It helped.”

Taako nodded, reaching up to pat Barry’s notes. “Uh, umhmmm, yes. Listen, Barold…” He reached up farther, prodding Barry’s stomach, “I was planning on letting you woo my beautiful, radiant, gorgeous, dazzling sister…”

“You’re identical, Taako.”

“Oh, thank you for the compliment, Barold,” Taako said through a crooked smile. “Anyway, I was planning on letting you court Lup all by yourself. But you haven’t made a single move. Not one!”

Barry rolled his chair to the side, avoiding Taako’s painful pointed fingers. Why was he so touchy after a few drinks? Especially around the stomach. “I can’t start flirting with her out of nowhere.”

“Oh yeah?” Taako positioned himself on top of the desk. No escape for Barry. “I think you had plenty of golden opportunities so far. When the two of you were trapped in the tube on the hamster planet? When we needed two people to nab the light of creation by staging a fake wedding? When she invited you to  _collect rock samples on top of the beautiful volcano_ and you  _declined_???”

To be fair, Barry had a solid reason for rejecting each of these. Lup wouldn’t have been in the mood for flirting while trapped. Merle and Davenport made a more convincing couple for the fake wedding. The volcano–uh, that was–the lava would have fogged up his glasses. Obviously, Barry could start to court Lup whenever he wanted. He just wanted it to be organic and normal.

Taako coughed. He pushed some of the notes to the side. “Anyhoo, I’ve realized you need all the help you can get. Let me at it, Barry!”

“At what?”

“At you. We have to–we gotta put you on display as a prime piece of ass.”

“Taako, I’m not–I’m not changing myself to get Lup.”

“I’m not proposing you change anything about yourself. That’s horrible,” he said, balancing himself on top of this desk, “It’s just like–okay, we all know paella is delicious. But nobody’s going to come to eat the paella if it’s not plated correctly. It has to look appetizing. You’ll still be B.J. Bluejeans, a nerd, but you’ll be B.J. Bluejeans, a nerd that gets eaten by my sister.”

“Gross.”

“Love is gross, Barold. Them’s the breaks. Now, first thing on the docket…We have to present you as a boyfriend potential. What’re your best, most marketable qualities?”

Barry crossed his arms, struggling to think of his best qualities. He wasn’t self-conscious, but being forced to say something nice about yourself on the spot is difficult for most normal people.

“I think, as a wizard, I’m very well-accomplished–”

“–neeeeerd–”

“Taako, you’re not helping.”

“Barry, Barold, tell me the juicy stuff.” Taako rested his chin in the crook of Barry’s neck, whispering a  _very_  personal question into his ear. Barry scooted away from the desk, accidentally throwing Taako off balance and face-first onto the floor. Red-faced and shaking, Barry got out of his chair and helped Taako off the floor. Good thing he was a happy drunk, or else he might not have shaken it off so nicely. Taako was giggling, a little too proud of himself.

“You can’t just ask me that, Taako, I–”

As Taako opened his mouth, another voice interrupted them. “Can’t ask what?”

Lup stood in the doorframe, holding an empty 6-pack of wizard beer. Even with a face exactly the same as Taako’s, there was no mistaking her from her brother. She was a little more graceful, a little more flirtatious, and a lot more explosive. Her back was never straight, she always stood with one shoulder poking out of line and a hand on her hip. A pastime of hers was to experiment painting her lips and nails with strange colors and patterns–tonight, they were baby blue. More subtle than usual. She wasn’t dressed in anything special, it looks like she was just about ready to go to sleep. Lup liked wearing large shirts to sleep, and this one showed off her shoulder…

…Barry realized he was staring.

“What'chu nerds talking about?”

Barry and Taako answered at the same time.

“Nothing–”

“Talkin’ about how  _good at sex_  Barold is.”

Lup and Barry froze. It felt like the longest pause in twenty five years to Barry. Time felt like it was going in slow motion. He couldn’t even look at her face–he was just–how could Taako have–

Lup erupted into laughter. She laughed so hard she cried, snorted, leaned against the wall. Lup laughed often, but she didn’t bust out like this on every occasion. It was so undignified, irreverent–It was the most beautiful thing Barry had ever heard.

“Well,” Lup said, giggling and wiping tears from her eyes, “That’s–”

“And don’t get me STARTED on how BIG his–”

“TAAKO!” Barry yelled, his face redder than his robes.

Lup was immediately thrown into another laughing fit, even longer and louder than the first. Taako joined in too, and chattered on about Barry. He wasn’t saying anything that was completely true, which forced Barry to cut in and correct most of the statements. Lup was loving it. She jabbed at Barry, offered him beers, sang mangled folk songs with him…After an hour, Barry realized that Taako had left a long time ago.

Maybe Taako was on to something.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taako makes a horrible mistake. Barry and Lup punish him for it.

The Starblaster, having to accommodate five wizards, had a good amount of lab space. Instead of one large lab, it housed three smaller ones. In the earlier cycles the crew had to fight for space, but at this point they had fallen into a natural schedule. Nobody bothered to write reservations anymore. If somebody needed a lab off-schedule, they could fight or barter for someone else’s time.

Until Taako reserved one of the labs on his own for an afternoon.

It was technically legal. Nobody explicitly said, “The written reservations don’t count anymore,” and the lab Taako reserved was the one that he and Lup always used. But Taako never did lab work alone. He either mooched off of somebody else’s space or worked with Lup.

Barry had been called to the lab. He felt a pit in his stomach that told him this was related to the conversation they had while Taako was drunk. That was three days ago. Was Taako serious?

When Barry got to the lab, he noticed Lup outside the door. She was trying to peek through a small glass porthole in the door–she had to lean down a little to look through. It was early in the cycle, and Lup hadn’t done anything crazy with her hair yet. When they left their home plane, her hair was styled plainly (for IPRE campus regulations), very similar to what she looked like when Barry first met her. It was strange that she hadn’t changed it yet, it had been a week since they touched down on this planet–

“Barry?”

Barry snapped his eyes away from Lup before she could notice him staring. Maybe Barry should take Taako’s advice–obviously he needs all the help he can get.

“Hey, Lup–Taako asked me to join him in the lab.”

“ _Oh_.” Lup crossed her arms. “Do you know what he’s doing in there? Usually he invites me.”

“I don’t know the details,” Barry said, not making eye contact. “Maybe he’s working on something delicate that evocation would harm.”

“I can do more than evocation,” she said. Her words felt cold.

“I know, but–uh. But…” Barry froze.

After some silence, Lup spoke up again. Softer. “Barry, can you do me a favor while you’re in there?”

He could  _hear_  his own heartbeat. “Anything.”

“Taako has…Taako’s been acting strange. He won’t talk to me about it, but I can tell something’s off. He’s hiding something from me. Can you…” Lup’s eyes caught Barry. Her head tilted to the floor, her hands clasped together across her chest, her eyes locked to his. Barry hadn’t seen her like this since she found him crying. Since he realized how much she meant to him. “Can you figure out what’s going on with Taako?”

“I’ll see what I can do, Lup.”

Lup nodded and stepped away from the door to let Barry through. He opened the door, stealing one last look at Lup before being plunged into Taako’s world.

Taako was not a tidy researcher. He kept nothing organized. Papers littered the lab. He was a disaster. He also had about…five, ten, twenty drinks spread out on a desk. None of them were opened. Taako ran to meet Barry as he walked in, dropping his wand.

“Barold!” Taako said, hooking an arm over Barry’s shoulder, “I came up with the perfect plan.”

“I’m a little scared to ask.”

“Listen, I’ve been talking you up all weekend,” Taako said, releasing Barry from his grip, “Which, y'know, cuts out some prime sibling talk, but whatever. I can make up for it later.”

“About that,” Barry glanced towards the door, “I think Lup’s onto you. She was really worried about you…she thinks you’re hiding something.”

“Technically I am, she doesn’t know about this plan of mine.”

“I can’t believe you would lie to Lup for me.”

“Taako do what he gotta do, Barold.” Taako picked his wand back up, “I’ll fill her in when it’s all over. Only a temporary lie.”

“What if she doesn’t–”

“Well, that’s her decision. I’m just helping you get to a point where you  _could_  ask. Best way to do that is to get you two alone enough that you feel comfortable.” He fiddled with his wand, mumbling to himself. “Although, I’m not entirely sure why she hasn’t asked you yet…”

With a flick of his wand, Taako cast a spell. Immediately, he cried out in…pain? No. Discomfort? Loss? It wasn’t clear. He rushed over to the desk with all the drinks on it, opening and chugging them one by one. He wailed out again.

Hearing his cries, Lup ran into the lab. “Taako? Taako, are you alright?” She asked, “Barry, what happened?”

“I don’t know, he just–he cast a spell on himself–he didn’t tell me what it was!”

Taako threw himself in Lup’s arms, dramatic as hell. “Lup, I’ve made a horrid mistake. I was trying to come up with a flavor spell–you know, have anything taste like anything else–but now I’m cursed!”

“Cursed?”

Taako draped himself in Lup’s grasp. Barry couldn’t tell if he was acting or serious. “I’ve lost my sense of taste!”

Barry was thrown. Taako…might have taken this too seriously.

“I need to test the extent of this curse in the kitchen–please, Lup, Barold, look through my notes and see if you can reverse this!”

Taako ran out of the room, winking at Barry. Lup was already grabbing Taako’s notes and throwing them into Barry’s arms. Of course, Barry wasn’t prepared for this, and dropped the notes all over the floor again.

Barry scrambled to pick the notes up. “Augh–! Sorry, Lup, I didn’t know you were going to–”

As Barry reached for one of the papers, a second hand grabbed the other end.

Lup’s hand.

Next thing he knew, Lup was staring directly into his eyes. She was…intense. Worried. But as she sat there, paper in hand, watching Barry, she relaxed. Lup broke her stare to pick up the papers from the ground.

Her voice, unshaken and calm, reassured him, “It’s fine. I didn’t warn you.”

The two of them worked for hours in silence, trying to figure out a way to counteract the curse Taako had placed on himself. Barry thought he should say something to Lup. If Taako’s plan was to get him and Lup alone, he should use this time wisely–but she looked so worried, Barry felt it was inappropriate to distract her.

Lup broke the silence. “Hey, did…did Taako say anything?”

Of course Taako said something, but it wasn’t as if Barry could tell her. That would mean unveiling Taako’s plan to her–too embarrassing. She could never know Taako was helping him. 

Great, now Barry had to lie to Lup. 

“He didn’t say anything specific–you know how quickly he changes the subject. I don’t think he’s angry at you.”

Lup stayed quiet.

“It’s not an elegant solution,” Barry said, changing the subject, “But I think we can modify this spell to load in artificial tastes. It will take a long time, but at least Taako would still be able to cook…”

Lup was staring at a pile of Taako’s notes. “That would take a month, at least.”

_A month alone with Lup._

Taako, you genius.

“We could wait and see if the spell goes away when we reset…”

_Barry, no, why would you say that?_

“That won’t work! Taako needs to be able to help make the Candlenights feast.”

Candlenights was one event that the IPRE crew celebrated consistently. Birthdays were weird because nobody was getting any older, and every planet had their own holidays during different seasons, but Candlenights was a Starblaster constant. And, about the third cycle through, the rest of the crew learned that Taako and Lup were the only ones to be trusted with the Candlenights feast. It was approaching fast; Taako couldn’t be missing in action now. 

“We could just load the spell with the ingredients you plan to use in the feast,” Barry said, “It would take a lot less time.”

“We’d need a flavor to be a filler. Y'know, for when he has to eat things that aren’t part of the feast.” Lup took another look through the notes, “And with how he’s been acting, I want it to be as obnoxious as possible.”

“What do you mean?”

Lup crushed one of the papers in her hand. “You didn’t notice? This wasn’t a flavor spell that went wrong–he was actively trying to lose his sense of taste. Really irresponsible of him to do so close to Candlenights.” 

Lup took the paper she crushed and engulfed it in flames. “Barry, do you have any ideas for a filler? Something nasty.”

Barry looked all around the lab. Something Taako wouldn’t stand…He looked at the lab equipment, the desk stocked with (now empty) drinks, and….at Lup. Barry had to stop himself, looking at Lup wasn’t going to solve this problem. Except…

Lup’s lips were painted lime green.

“What about…key lime gogurt?”

The corners of Lup’s lime green lips curled into a horrid, mischievous smile. 

“Barry Bluejeans, you’re a blue _genius._ " 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Taako and Lup have a nasty fight. Barry gets stuck in the middle.

“That’s what you get for being an asshole, bro.”

Lup stood over Taako, who was writing recipes for the Starblaster’s 25th annual Candlenights Feast (Featuring Lup and Taako (Nobody else allowed in the kitchen)). He was drinking…water. Anything else he drank came out tasting like lime gogurt. Any food that wasn’t found in their Candlenights feast also tasted like lime gogurt. Damn it, Barold.

“It’s…fine. You know, I almost have to praise Barry for this–what a great,” Taako said through gritted teeth, “Great,  _great_ , prank.”

Lup chugged an entire wizard beer and slammed it on Taako’s desk. “I’m going to take a fucking shot everytime you talk about Barold  _fucking_  Bluejeans.”

“That was more than a shot, Lulu.”

“The entire point of nicknames is that they’re shorter than your real name. Your nickname for me is longer than my actual godsdamned name.” Lup cracked open another cold one.

“Damn, hitting all the wrong notes tonight.” Taako took the cold one out of her hands. He took a sip, gagged, and handed it back to her. “You want to talk about something?”

Lup tapped the bottle.

“Nope.”

“Really, because you seem sort of…y'know.” Taako knew that when Lup got angry, she was likely to blow a fuse. Right now, she was what could only be described as seething. She had just gotten back from the lab with Barry–they were still fixing Taako’s tasteless curse. He was hoping the two of them would grow closer as friends  _or more_ from all the time this spell took to fix, but Lup seemed more frustrated with every meeting. “It seems like you’ve got something on your mind.”

"Fine.” Lup chugged the rest of her drink. “Are you lying to me?”

“No.”

For a full minute, Lup stared at Taako. She knew, and he knew she knew. Taako wasn’t fond of lying directly to his sister. But he wasn’t planning on lying to her for too much longer.

Maybe Taako needed to speed up this plan. 

Taako got out of his seat and ran for the door. Lup called after him, “Where are you going?”

“Just gotta have a chat with Barold. Be back soon!” Not his cleanest exit, but it worked. With a sense of urgency not normally seen by Taako, he made his way to Barry’s room. No knocking–lucky for Taako, Barry didn’t lock his door. He was asleep. Right, humans did that for, like, half the entire day. 

Lup had run after Taako, yelling at him in a stage whisper. “Taako–Takko, it’s one in the morning! The humans are asleep!” She stood in the frame of Barry’s door, livid. “You tell me what’s going on  _right now_ or else you meditate in somebody else’s room tonight!”

Silence.

Lup slammed the door to Barry’s room.

Barry woke up and reached for his glasses. “Taako? What are you doing here so late?”

“Nothing. Hey, uh, we’re gonna have to change our strategy, buddy.”

* * *

Lup knew Taako had been lying. Taako refused to come clean. The Starblaster crew hadn’t seen a full-scale twin fight before–but here it was, out in full force. The twins were forever operating on the unshakable trust between them, but for some  _godawful_ reason, Taako was breaking it. And the fight?

It was ugly as hell.

Cold shoulders, shouting from the twins’ room at 2am, errant and dangerous spellcasting. Of course, this wasn’t their first fight, and this didn’t mean the twins hated each other. Taako was lying for Lup’s sake, and Lup was angry because she didn’t understand why Taako would lie to her with no warning. It was a fight bred out of familial love–and the fight was only this nasty because of how incredibly close the two were.

Taako spent most nights over in Barry’s room. This worked out fine. It gave Taako a chance to decompress and talk through his scuffle with the only other person who knew the reason for its existence. Lup stayed in her room, alone. She was scary when she was angry. The only person that dared to approach her like this was Lucretia–she needed an accurate log of this fight. Lup found it comforting to air everything out to Lucretia, and had a strange sense of pride knowing her brother’s dickishness would be recorded in Starblaster history, forever.

Despite the anger and lies, the twins managed to make a truce for two hours each day to work through the Candlenights feast preparations. The rest of the Starblaster shouldn’t miss out on a kickass feast because the two were fighting.

But soon enough, this truce didn’t work. Lup was so agitated. Taako was tired of keeping the charade. His plan wasn’t even working–Lup acted cold and frustrated around Barry, making it impossible for Barold to get in a word with her. And the curse Taako had put on himself to push them together? Lup refused to work on fixing it. 

So, of course, Taako was stuck with the gogurt.

A week before Candlenights began, Lup gathered the crew into the common area. The Starblaster had a gaudy curved sectional that could seat ten. Lup and Taako stood in front of the sectional, with the rest of the crew piled over each other comfortably.

“So…regarding Lup and Taako’s 25th annual Candlenights feast…” Lup said with the coldest tone she could muster.

“ _The feast that could satisfy the Hunger™,_ ” Taako added. He wasn’t as visibly upset as Lup.

“Well, maybe not anymore.”

Alright, now Taako was upset.

“You’re not making a feast, then?” Magnus asked.

“We’re not going to drop a holiday because of something so petty as Taako’s hollow and unnecessary lying.”

“And we’re definitely not dropping Candlenights because of Lup’s inability to trust me, it’s not a big fucking deal.”

“EITHER WAY,” Lup said, trying desperately to restrain herself, “I think the way we fix this is to assign somebody as a neutral messenger. That way, Taako and I can plan and make the feast without tearing each other’s throats out.”

Taako and Barry immediately locked eyes.

Lup continued, “I think you would be the most competent, Lucretia. Would you be okay with that?”

Lucretia, sitting on the edge of the sectional and writing in her journal, wordlessly gave Lup a thumbs-up.

“Hey,” Taako cut in, “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Hold on. Lucretia can’t be the messenger.”

“Why can’t she?”

“Listen, Lucretia, if you’re the messenger, you’d have to be paying attention to keeping Lup and I apart during the feast. You wouldn’t be able to record  _anything_.”

Lucretia stopped writing. “You’re right, Taako, I would rather be recording the event…Except, I would be happy to do it if nobody else is able.”

Lup scanned the sectional, falling silent for a very long time.

“Guess we could get Barry to do it.”

Zing. Got her.

“Barry, can you come by my room as soon as you wake up tomorrow morning? I’ll have a fresh batch of recipe notes you can deliver to you-know-who.” Lup glared at Taako. “And I hope you’ll come to your senses.” Lup left the room, and the rest of the Starblaster crew awkwardly left one at a time until Taako and Barry were alone.

Barry said, “You know, we could just drop this. I don’t want to get in between you two.”

“No can do, too deep in this drama. Most important part of fighting with Lup; you gotta double down at every opportunity. Write that down.”

“She’s not even talking to me.”

“You’re right, she was PISSED last time I brought you up.” Taako paused for a moment, thinking his plan over. “Look, when you go deliver my shit to her tomorrow, make sure you tell me exactly what she says. I’m gonna have to think this over. Rework this whole situation.”

Barry nodded. “Sure, Taako. Can I ask one thing, though?”

“Go for it.”

“Why would you go this far just for me?”

Taako let out a crooked, cackling laugh. “It’s cute that you think I’m doing this for  _you_.”

A wave of fear hit Barry. “Then…?”

Taako made his way out of the common area, back towards Barry’s room. “I’ll either tell you after Lup rejects you or at the wedding.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the twins (kind of?) stop fighting. Barry gets bamboozled.

Barry stood outside Lup’s door, holding a stack of recipe cards. Lucretia and Magnus watched from around the corner; curious enough to watch from afar, but not curious enough to help him out.  _Thanks._  Although, Barry couldn’t blame them–he was terrified, stuck in the middle of the twin’s fight. Just before Barry raised his hand to knock, Lup swung open the door.

“Barry!” Lup smiled. Damn, Lup was  _smiling._  “Thanks for doing this.”

Lup had mastered  _exhausted couture_ long ago. Even with the bags under her eyes and her hair pinned back with low-adhesive tape, she still rocked it. Maybe it was her undaunted confidence; maybe it was just how Barry saw her. Both, most likely.

“Here, come on in–no sense in making this clinical, let’s  _chat_!” Lup said, pulling Barry by the arm into her room.

He was  _not_ prepared to be taken in nicely.

Lup and Barry sat together at her desk. She flipped through Taako’s recipe cards. These were the plans Taako had come up with the previous night; Lup was supposed to correct or make suggestions on them. Taako was to do the same to Lup’s cards, and give them back the next day. She insisted on correcting them with Barry in the room–it would be easier for him to hand them back over to Taako.

As she corrected the cards, she talked Barry’s ear off. “Got any requests for the feast?”

“Not really. I’ve loved every single one so far. I trust your judgement.”

“Good to hear!” She laughed. Politely. “I don’t know if I’ve ever asked you this, but…what does the J stand for?”

Barry chuckled. “Family secret.” It was nice, being able to hold a normal conversation. Lup had been so cold towards him recently–Barry wasn’t about to question why.

Lup threw the cards back onto the desk. “Wait, shit, I forgot to offer you a drink or something! Be right back.” She ran out of the room, leaving Barry to himself.

With Taako kicked out of the room, Lup had spread her things all over with reckless abandon. Her recipe cards littered the floor. Caffeinated drinks were everywhere. It comforted Barry to know that she was just as disorganized as he was. This felt very different–this situation. Barry felt different.

A few minutes later Lup came back into the room, handing Barry a mug. “I think you’ll enjoy this one.”

“What is it?”

“Just drink it.” She grinned.

A little ominous, but okay. Barry brought the mug to his lips, and–

It was loose gogurt. Key lime.

Lup  _lost_ it. She was  _howling_. And it was one of those infectious types of laughs; Barry couldn’t help but join in. The two of them laughed until they cried. Barry was reminded briefly of the incident in his room–the last time he heard Lup laughing. It took a few minutes for the laughter to die down. Lup reached for Barry’s glasses.

“You cried all over your lens,” she said, softly, wiping them off with her shirt.

“I can do it, you don’t have to–”

“They always look foggy and dirty, let me fix it!” Lup said as she wiped off all the fingerprints off the lens.

A few moments of silence.

“Lup?”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry if this sounds strange, but…what’s going on here? You were–I was afraid I said something wrong to you, I thought you were angry at me. What happened?”

She worked out the spots on his glasses. “Well, Barold…I’m not blind. I know what Taako is lying about. His half-baked attempts to get us to hang out? All the time you two spend together? I can put the pieces together.”

“You know?” Barry asked, his heart sinking into his stomach.

“For the record, I am not opposed to what Taako is trying to do. I just…I don’t want him to lie to me about it.”

“You’re not  _opposed?!_ ” His chest felt like it was about to burst open.

“This little spat with my brother shouldn’t impede what we have, Barry. You haven’t done anything wrong!”

Barry couldn’t say anything. He sat there, his face as red as his robes. Was he sweating? Of course he was. Lup laughed, moving closer to Barry. So close. She slipped his glasses behind his ears, gently. Her hands laid on his shoulders. 

“I should get back to work. Can you take my cards over to my horrible brother?”

Barry nodded.

“Thanks.” She smiled.

And before she let him go, she kissed him on the cheek.

It was so brief, and so light–Barry wasn’t even sure she did it, at first. But he felt her breath on his cheek, her hands on his shoulders. He desperately wanted to give her one, but before he could finish the thought she was already moving to pick up her cards to deliver. Barry left the room with a lot of frantic feelings swirling around in his head, but he was grinning the entire way back to his room. 

“Yeah, that was platonic.”

Taako scrawled notes in the margins of Lup’s recipe cards. “Lup does that to me all the time. It’s a family thing.”

“But she said she  _knew_ why you’re lying and she  _wasn’t opposed_ to it! Why would she kiss me platonically?”

“Don’t know, homie.”

“Do you think she meant it like…a message?” Barry said, touching his cheek. “She had to know I’d come tell you about it, wouldn’t she? Maybe she’s ready to patch things up with you.”

“Maybe.” Taako shuffled all the recipe cards together. “Lemme go give these back to Lup myself. I’ll see what’s up.”

* * *

“Hey.” Taako said, his head poked out from behind the doorframe. Lup was sitting on her bed, reading through their past Candlenights plans.

Lup didn’t answer.

Hesitant, Taako walked in and picked up the cup Lup had given Barry earlier. It was still full. “This a new mix you’re making for the feast?”

“Yeah.”

He drank the entire cup in one gulp, slamming it back down on the desk. “Tastes like gogurt.”

Lup stifled a laugh. “I bet it does.”

Taako sat down next to her. “You, uh…you figured it out, I take it?”

“Why else would you keep pushing Barry onto me?” Lup said, laying her head on his shoulder. “I mean, I get it; I’d do the same to you, in the same situation. But you have to tell me when you’re pulling this shit off.”

“You’re not mad?”

“I’m pissed.” She laughed. “Honestly, it was unnecessary. I don’t need to be  _forced_ to spend time with Barry. Especially not in your backwards-ass plan.”

“Cool, cool, okay. Good to know.” Taako leaned his head on top of hers. “Are  _we_ good? At least for Candlenights. Honestly, the card thing isn’t working for me.”

“I’m definitely going to yell at you later. But we’re good  _for now_.” Lup pulled back from Taako, flicking his forehead. “If we’re going to fight, we have to keep it burning at maximum brightness–for the drama, of course–and let me tell you: I do _not_  have the energy for that right now.”

“Great. I’m grabbing my shit out of Barold’s room–we have a massive amount of work to catch up on.” Taako gave Lup the same family kiss she gave Barry, and left to pick up his things.

As he left, an odd, misplaced sadness fell over Lup.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn about a horrible miscommunication.

25th Annual Starblaster Candlenights Feast.  _The feast that could satisfy the Hunger™._

It was a big, extravagant group effort. Merle hung wreaths and flowers all around the ship–and found the biggest piece of shrubbery on the planet. Magnus chopped it down and moved it into the common area. Davenport found the best place to park the Starblaster; right underneath a beautiful winter aurora. Lucretia decorated Merle’s plants with ornaments and ribbons. Barry helped out wherever an extra set of hands was needed, which happened to be–

“Barry! Get your ass over here!”

Lup poked her head through the kitchen doors. “We need, like, eight things peeled and/or cut.”

Barry stood slack-jawed in the kitchen and was handed eight different kinds of knives and peelers. “I thought–you two don’t normally ask for help–”

“We also don’t normally work on this shit so close to the wire,” Taako said, his eyes glued to a bubbling pot.

“I don’t know a whole lot about cooking, I’ll probably slow you down or mess it up.”

“Well, that’s why you’re cutting, peeling, and washing pots. Low-skill shit. No way you can fuck it up!” Lup laughed, kissing Barry on the cheek again. “Although, if you do, we’re  _totally_ making fun of you.”

For a few hours (Barry lost count), the three of them worked to finish a seven-person feast. Taako and Lup both liked to keep their spell slots full before the celebrations so they could pull off some sweet trick spells, so every once in a while one of them would leave the room to get ready for the actual party. Can’t waste a spell slot on disguise self–no, this is all natural beauty, baby. At least one twin had to stay in the kitchen at all times–can’t leave Barry to himself.

Lup finished all of her messy work, so she ran out to go get changed before she started anything else. Barry watched her leave, then ran up behind Taako. “We need to talk.”

“What’s up, Jeans on Candlenights?”

“That’s not funny.” Barry said. Should he have dressed nicer? “Look, um…I think I’m telling Lup today.”

Taako stopped everything. He turned to Barry, a big-ass grin plastered on his face. “Oh?”

“Yeah–can you…?”

“‘Course, as soon as she comes back I’ll duck out.”

“Thanks.” Barry stared at the door Lup left through.

“Nervous?” Taako asked.

“Who wouldn’t be?”

Taako raised his eyebrows and just…gestured to himself. Barry chuckled. Taako laid a hand on Barry’s shoulder. “Listen, it’ll be fine.”

“What do I even say?”

“You’re telling me you haven’t–Barold, you’re an absolute  _wreck_ ,” Taako said, a little huffy. “Just, fucking tell her. Can’t be too hard.”

Barry stared at the floor, suddenly shaken by the realization that  _maybe he wasn’t ready to tell her, fuck._

“Why not start with a compliment?” Taako asked, knowing he needed to talk Barry through this.

“I guess…would it be creepy if I told her, out of the blue, that she has pretty eyes?”

Taako didn’t want to discourage him, but  _holy shit_ that’s a terrible start. “Kind of basic, but you’re getting there. Are you sure you’ll be able to get out a single word in front of her? This is hard to watch.”

“I’ll be fine, if it’s Lup I’ll be fine.” Barry said. Taako looked at him incredulously. “I’m serious! I don’t know how to explain it. When we’re talking, sure, I’m nervous, but I’m never afraid to say what I mean. I get teased, but I know it comes from a good place. What do they say–laughing with someone, not at someone? That’s what I mean. If I have a real, genuine problem, I can still be taken seriously–”

“Oh, shit.”

“And, it’s just–it seems like that’s mutual. We talk and I feel like I’m being trusted with something important. Or, at least, it’s important to me.”

“Barry, stop–”

“What?”

“Lup’s outside.”

Barry turned around, and sure enough–-Lup was looking through the door. Not for very long; as soon as Barry noticed her, she bolted.

Taako shoved Barry towards the door. “Taako’s gotta stay with the food–you need to get out there and explain yourself  _now_!”

Without any prodding, Barry ran out the kitchen door and into the common room. The rest of the crew was staring towards the door out to the deck. Magnus walked up to Barry and asked, “What’s going on? Lup ran out onto the deck–is she fighting with Taako again?”

“Ask Taako,” Barry said, already out the door to the deck. Lup stood by the railing. She looked out towards a beautiful aurora. The lights illuminated her, and…shit, no, no, there wasn’t time to take this all in. Lup heard the door close behind Barry.

As Lup turned to speak to Barry, she wiped a few tears off her face. “Barry–shit, don’t–don’t tell Taako.”

“What are you talking about–are you crying?” Barry ran up next to her, but she wasn’t making eye contact.

“I told myself I’d be happy for the two of you, but I guess…seeing it actually happen was a little too much.” She took a moment to compose herself. “But, um–sorry, I fucked up your conversation with Taako. You were getting to the good shit.”

It took Barry a minute to fully comprehend that. "That wasn’t for Taako, he was helping me figure out what to say to you!”

“…To  _me_?” Lup stopped. “You and Taako aren’t-–hold on. Are you dating my brother?”

“No! Gods, no!” Why would she think that? “Where did you get that idea?”

“I thought…because you two were spending so much time together…I thought you and Taako were dating and he was keeping it a secret.”

“I would never–Taako and I are very good friends, yes, but I don’t have any feelings for him.”

Lup was confused. “Then what was Taako lying about?”

“I…I got some advice from Taako, four years ago. On the beach. He got it into his mind to help me–” Barry was getting increasingly embarrassed, his voice barely a whisper now, “–to help me get the courage to ask you out.”

Something clicked in Lup’s mind. “Oh.” She grinned. “ _Oh?_ ”

Barry averted his eyes from her, hoping she wouldn’t notice how red his face was getting. “What did you _think_ Taako was lying about?”

It took a while, but to really understand the amount of  _bullshit_ Lup had been going through, she had to explain her version of the events leading up to this Candlenights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of what I posted on tumblr! I'll post new parts soon, but I really did want to get them all up on my a03 quickly. Thanks for sticking around!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lup explains her versions of the events leading up to Candlenights.

Lup and Taako were moved around so often before they joined the IPRE, there was never time to talk about crushes. Which was a shame, because when the twins finally got to IPRE headquarters, they had a ridiculously fun time pointing out which people on campus they would go out with. It was refreshing to talk about something new. The twins knew what kind of people they didn't trust by heart--for both of them, hearing their sibling have a positive feeling towards other people was a relief. They learned _new_ things about each other. A novelty. Taako would only point to men. Lup pointed to anyone, but was picky with personalities. Taako chose people who were just as ostentatious and ridiculous as he was. Lup was after the shy ones. It was high time for the twins to start trusting people outside of the womb-sphere.

And both the twins had the idea in their minds that if--no, _when_ one of them found a partner, the other twin would be as supportive as possible.

There's a period of uncertainty when you start having feelings for someone. Sure, Lup and Taako had developed deep friendships with everybody on the Starblaster. But this was different. Barry was different. During cycle seventeen, the first thought crept into her mind.

_Oh. It's **Barry.**_

In any other circumstance, Lup would have run to Taako. She would have gushed about Barry. She would have tried to get the two of them to hang out, so she could have both her boys in the same space. She would have wanted to play tricks and games, dressing up as her brother to get a gauge on what Barry thought of her.

But Barry didn't talk to her the way she thought he would. He had trouble connecting with her, and she was left confused. _What went wrong?_

He spoke so easily to the rest of the crew. He could be a total nerd with Davenport. Magnus and Lucretia gravitated towards him, the other human. With how fragile he could be, he was visiting Merle frequently. Taako was teaching him how to swim.

And then, she found Taako drunk on the floor of Barry's room.

"What'chu nerds talking about?" she said, even if it was difficult watching Taako talking to Barry so organically. And it broke Lup's heart a little, watching Barry so comfortable with a person that shared her face. It wasn't jealousy, it was...

"Talkin' about how _good at sex_ Barold is."

It was hilarious. Lup couldn't keep herself from laughing. He kept going, and Lup kept laughing, joking with Barry, they were drinking together--

She realized Taako left an hour ago.

That's what it _should_ have been like this whole time. Why couldn't her and Barry connect like that more often? She was hopeful. Maybe things could turn around.

But, the day after, Barry was back to being _distant_ and _fidgety._ Was he afraid of her?

Three days later, Lup stood outside the door to one of the Starblaster's labs. Taako had been acting different ever since the night with Barry--in fact, Barry was the only thing Taako would talk about.

"You know, Barold's so smart. Soaks things up like a sponge. Incredible, really."

"Did you know Barold plays the piano?"

"I saw Barry wearing a grey shirt today--isn't that wild?"

Sure, Taako, rub it in. We get it, Barry _talks to_ _you_.  Don't have to brag about it. Whatever Lup did to offend Barry, she swore she was going to get to the bottom of it. If Taako and Barry could hold a normal conversation, she could too. When Barry showed up to the lab, it stung Lup to learn Taako invited him. She knew he wasn't doing it on purpose, but...what was the meaning of all this?

"I don't know the details," Barry said, avoiding eye contact. Like always. "Maybe he's working on something delicate that evocation would harm."

"I can do more than evocation," she said, having trouble hiding her annoyance.

"I know, but--uh. But..." Barry had trouble forming words around her. Nothing new. Except, he seemed more nervous than usual. Lup had to calm down, fast. Working things out with Barry wasn't going to happen if she got defensive. In fact...maybe she could ask Barry for some help.  

"Barry, can you do me a favor while you're in there?"

When she started explaining, she couldn't stop. Barry had that effect on her. Lup inherently trusted him with anything on her mind. Oversharing? Probably. She got a little too worked up, a little too emotional. Did he notice how upset he was? Either way, it was fine. He agreed to help her out.

Once Barry entered the lab to talk to Taako, Lup tried peeking into the door's porthole. She saw Taako and Barry acting all buddy-buddy, like they were best friends. Well. She wouldn't hate it if they were. In fact, that would be ideal. But something about watching the two of them interact...

Lup stopped looking through the door. It was _spying_ and it was _wrong_.  She thought, maybe it would be best if she just went back to her room--

Taako screamed from inside.

The words coming out of Taako and Barry were blurred--he cast some sort of curse on himself? He couldn't taste things? This was bad. Candlenights was coming up quick, how would he be able to help without a working tongue? Taako said something about having Barry help her reverse it. Normally, she'd be ecstatic to work with Barry on a big project.

No, this was an _emergency_.

She grabbed papers, any notes she could find--anything so she could figure out how to _fix her damn brother._ How could he do something so reckless?

Papers fell to the floor.

 _Oh._ She didn't realize she was shoving them all onto Barry. He dropped to the floor, anxiously grabbing at the papers on the floor. "Augh--! Sorry, Lup, I didn't know you were going to--"

She dove for papers too, but as she pulled them up, one of them pulled back. Another hand had already grabbed it.

Barry's hand.

He looked straight into her eyes. Lup felt heat rising to her face. Why did this feel like a setup? It didn't matter; she needed to calm down. Barry's eyes snapped her back down, allowing her to recollect herself. She wouldn't be able to fix Taako by freaking out.

"It's fine, I didn't warn you," she said, taking her eyes off of Barry. Didn't want to stare at him for too long.

Lup worked together with him for hours. Confused wasn't something that Lup felt often, but here she was. Even without words, her and Barry worked well as a team. It was organic, the two of them passing papers and notes to each other, trying to figure this out...but she couldn't stay silent forever. "Hey, did...did Taako say anything?"

He looked like he was calculating something in his head. It was a simple question, what was going on? His answer didn't matter, because as soon as he opened his mouth, Lup could tell. It didn't make sense why, but she knew. She knew.

Barry was lying to her.

No, she wasn't confused anymore--for the first time in ages, Lup was straight-up self conscious. Obviously Barry and Taako were getting into something _without her._ Taako never left her out of the loop. Barry baffled her more: Her coworker, her friend, her...

Was it something she did?

Barry had a good plan for reversing the spell, but Lup knew, "That would take a month, at least." Briefly, Lup's stomach fluttered. A month with alone with Barry.

"We could wait and see if the spell goes away when we reset..."

Her heart sank. Was it really so horrible for him to work with her?

Didn't matter. She needed Taako to taste things before Candlenights. She worked a quick solution with Barry. Cast the spell again, but load in artificial tastes for food they would use in Candlenights--but what flavor would they use as a filler? Lup had half a mind to make it shit, or vomit, something horribly disgusting to get back at her brother. Ugh, that was too mean. She asked Barry, and his idea...

Key lime gogurt was such a genius, _genius_   idea.

Lup forgot how _funny_   Barry could be.

* * *

Lup slammed the door to Barry's room. _Why was Taako lying to her?_ And badly, on top of it. She didn't _like_ fighting with her brother, but she had to stand her ground on this. He had to come clean soon enough.

The flip-flopping with Barry didn't help, either. Sometimes it felt like they had some deep connection, and other times it felt like Barry hated her. It was exhausting; head over heels one minute,  

At least Lucretia was a good listener.

Eventually, she couldn't take seeing his face while working on the Candlenights feast. Lup's idea: get a neutral party to deliver plans between the two. They called a meeting for the rest of the Starblaster crew. Taako didn't take it seriously, of course, until Lup asked Lucretia to be the messenger. No, _then_   he paid attention. He convinced her to step down, forcing Lup to name another person. Taako was so vehemently opposed to having Lucretia be the messenger, but why? Then, Lup noticed.

Taako was _staring_ at someone. Ugh, obviously he had someone in mind. Come on, Taako, this had to be somebody _neutral!_ Fine, maybe Lucretia wasn't neutral. Lup knew Lucretia would take her side, hell, anyone would take her side because _she was right._ But fine, she thought. She looked over to see who Taako was staring at, and--

Oh.

_It's Barry._

Suddenly, the past year made sense to Lup. Taako was in _love_   Barry. He was trying to get her and Barry to hang out. She would do the same, it made sense. Taako wanted Barry and Lup to be friends, expand the family unit out a little.

Lup did a couple quick social calculations.

Barry didn't look at Lup the way she looked at Barry. He spent all his time with Taako lately. Was--was he embarrassed to look at Lup because she had the same face as his crush? That's right--Barry didn't hate her, he just hasn't adjusted to dating a twin yet. It was awkward for him to speak to Lup, she looked too much like Taako. He needed help, the poor man.  

Lup made a snap decision.

"Guess I could get Barry to do it."

With those eight words, Lup abandoned her feelings in exchange for her brother and _friend's_   happiness.

Lup would do anything for her brother.

First, she had to be unshakably friendly towards Barry. She could tell Barry was surprised. With how frustrated she had been lately, she couldn't blame him. Luckily for Lup, he didn't resist. They had a lovely conversation. She made him drink gogurt from a coffee mug--funniest comeback in _ages._ Barry laughed so hard he cried. Forgetting she was trying to be _platonic,_ she took his glasses and wiped them off with her shirt.

"Sorry if this sounds strange, but...what's going on here? You were--I was afraid I said something wrong to you, I thought you were angry at me. What happened?"

_Frustrated, Barry, not angry._

She worked out the spots on his glasses, just to take her mind off of him. "Well, Barold…I’m not blind. I know what Taako is lying about. His half-baked attempts to get us to hang out? All the time you two spend together? I can put the pieces together."  _I know you've been making out with my brother._

"You know?" Barry asked, and _he looks so flustered._ He really had it bad for Taako.

“For the record, I am not opposed to what Taako is trying to do. I just…I don’t want him to lie to me about it.”

“You’re not  _opposed?!_ ” It was cute, watching him so flustered.

Over her brother.

“This little spat with my brother shouldn’t impede what we have, Barry. You haven’t done anything wrong!” Before anything else, she was friends with Barry. That was important. Easing his fears of being around her had to come first.

Lup slipped his glasses back on. She put her hands on his shoulders ( _oh, hopefully he doesn't take that the wrong way_ ), asking him to deliver the cards back to Taako. And...she was standing so close to him. His face was _right there._   He looked so embarrassed--she couldn't blame him. She had just exposed his little secret with Taako.

She wanted to kiss him so bad, to take him in her arms and just--

No, no, _stop_.

It would take Lup a long time to get over this. To get over Barry. She knew she could do it, for Taako, but it would take time. If only she could get Taako on speaking terms with her again--no, she wasn't going to apologize herself.

Before he left, she kissed Barry on the cheek.

Half an hour later, Taako came running into her room. Message received.

Talking to Taako about Barry helped. It was a little odd that he didn't say anything outlandish about being with Barry; he was being kind of vague. She hadn't seen Taako date anyone before, so she didn't know what to expect. Lup decided not to press him too hard. He looked happy, that's all she really cared about.

She did well, for a while. It was nice being on good terms with her brother again. Barry wasn't as nervous around her. This could work, she could get over Barry and everything would be fine.

On her way back to the kitchen, she heard a voice coming from the door. “I’m serious! I don’t know how to explain it." Barry's voice?

"When we’re talking, sure, I’m nervous, but I’m never afraid to say what I mean." Lup watched from outside the door. Taako and Barry were inches apart.

"I get teased, but I know it comes from a good place. What do they say–laughing with someone, not at someone? That’s what I mean." Taako had his hand on Barry's shoulder. It was fine, Lup was fine. It felt like something big was about to happen between the two.

"If I have a real, genuine problem, I can still be taken seriously–”

“Oh, shit.”  _Oh shit._

“And, it’s just–it seems like that’s mutual. We talk and I feel like I’m being trusted with something important. Or, at least, it’s important to me.”

“Barry, stop–” Taako saw her.

Lup ran off to the deck. This was ridiculous, why couldn't she handle this? Taako was family. Now, Barry was family. Not in the way she had thought in the first place, but wasn't it better to keep Taako happy than to split up a couple so _she_ could have Barry? Ugh, and now she was crying. That wasn't fair to Taako, and now she'd have to explain herself to--

Barry stood out on the entrance to the deck.

She had to do damage control, try to make it seem like she was okay with all of this--maybe if she pretended they were tears of joy, that would work. She blubbered on, saying whatever she could to get Barry to go back to Taako--

"That wasn't for Taako, he was helping me figure out what to say to you!"

To _her?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was....longer than I thought. Whoops! Thanks for all your nice comments, everybody. It's almost over; maybe...two more chapters? Not very long ones.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup and Barry come to an agreement.

"And, well, that brings us to now," Lup said after explaining the past few months.

Barry couldn't believe it. He felt like he had just listened to the plot synopsis of an overcomplicated love drama; but no, that's the life he and Lup had been living. Mostly Lup--damn, why did he have to be so oblivious to all this? Why couldn't he have just told her?

"So you--" Barry had trouble forming the words, "You said it a couple times, but--"

She opened her mouth to say something, then--hold on. Lup was _embarrassed_.  Guess there's a first time for everything. She was staring at him too, and...was she _checking him out?_   "I like you, yeah. I mean--a lot. I've got a weakness for nerds, Barry, and you're the king of nerds."

" _Oh_." His stomach flipped. 

"Barry," Lup said, laying a hand on his arm.

"Yeah?" He was nervous. He had every reason to be. Except, it wasn't the same feeling he's had around Lup before. Yes, he was nervous, but he didn't feel self-conscious. It helped knowing that Lup was into him. He wasn't about to question why.

Lup had Barry in a loose hug, running her hands along his back. "Well. Question: What made you think asking my brother for advice was a good idea?"

Barry laughed, "It wasn't my idea. He did it on his own. I'm still not sure why."

"I'm _sure_ he thought he was being _a huge help_ ," Lup said, rolling her eyes. "But listen, what I've figured out from my brother's horrible, _horrible_ plan is that...well? We don't actually hang out alone enough."

"That means...you don't want to anymore?" He asked, afraid of the answer.

Lup shook her head. "Barry. Let's...let's do more work together. Let's spend more of our spare time talking. Let's..." She moved closer, tangling a couple fingers in his hair--absolutely destroying Barry. "Let's take a little time to figure out if this is real. Doesn't have to be anything big, we don't have to tell anyone else yet...just us, for a while."

"I'd...like that. Yeah. It would definitely take the pressure off." Barry smiled. Lup's fingers reached to trace along a dimple in his cheeks; this also destroyed Barry.

"Can I kiss you?" Lup asked in the _softest_   voice, now holding Barry's cheek in her palm.

"You--you're asking permission?" His hand reached up to touch hers.

She shrugged. "I didn't want to start this off by assuming anything. I assumed you and my brother were a thing and look where that got me. I could have been kissing you weeks ago."

"I _wish_." Barry cleared his throat. "I mean, yes. That would be--let's do it."

"Okay. Great!" Lup stood still. She stepped away from Barry, fanning her face. "Hold on, fuck, shit--I shouldn't be this nervous kissing a _nerd_." She laughed--Barry hadn't heard her nervous laugh before.

"You did it before!"

"Those didn't count, that was when I thought you were gonna be my _in-law_." Lup took a deep breath. "And it was on the cheek."

Barry touched his cheek. "You don't--you don't have to if--"

"No, I've got it!" Lup turned back to Barry. His face was burning and his heart was racing, and as far as Barry could tell, so were hers. They both broke out into laughter as Lup pulled Barry close to her again. "You've--damn, I really should have noticed earlier. You've got it _bad,_ Barry."

"You're one to talk! Look at your--" He wheezed, holding onto her tightly, "Look at your face!"

Lup laughed again, pressing her forehead against Barry's. "Look at _yours!_ " It didn't take much longer for her to close the distance, catching Barry in the middle of a laughing fit.

The two could swear there was an electric current between them. It was borderline addictive, neither of them wanted to be the first to pull away. Lup had her thumbs in Barry's back pockets, and, _bold move,_ but it made Barry's heart flutter. Eventually, Barry broke away because _damn, he needed to breathe._

"Sweet," Lup said. It was all she could say, before Barry reached up to kiss her again. He pulled back quickly, embarrassed. Lup leaned over and whispered, "Hey, Barry? Yeah, do me a huge favor and do that, like, every possible instance you can. Thanks in advance."

Barry smiled. "You could always come into the lab and help me study bonds."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?"

The two of them stood there for a good few minutes, laughing and holding each other, Barry laying his forehead into Lup's shoulder, Lup running her fingers along Barry's back. They took time to take it all in, because after months of bullshit miscommunication, it felt nice to take a moment to confirm that _yes, this is happening._

They were just _so happy._

Reluctantly, Lup pulled herself away from Barry. "I'd like to stay here for longer, but..."

"Can't leave Taako in the kitchen alone?"

"Definitely not." Lup kissed him one more time, quickly, and then noticed something on Barry's face. "Barry, your lips--"

"Oh, were they--was something wrong with them?" He covered his mouth with a hand.

"No! No, not at all. They're perfect." She smiled, nudging his hand away from his face. "It's just--I had painted mine, and now it's all over yours."

Barry was _mortified._

"I'll get it, here..." Lup ran her thumb over Barry's lips, wiping off the lipstick. For the most part, she was doing it so that they wouldn't get caught the second they got back inside, but another part of her was _giddy_ watching the look on his face as she did this. "That's it. Good to go!"

Barry couldn't even squeak out a word as he followed her back into the kitchen.

* * *

 "Finally, you're back!" Taako said as they entered the kitchen, "Now I can go get ready to--"

"Taako, you _LITTLE SHIT_!" With no hesitation, Lup had him by the collar. "I swear, whenever _you_ start dating somebody, I am going to make your life a living hell. Do you understand me?"

"Whatever do you mean?" He was grinning. Smug bastard.

"You knew Barry was into me and you _didn't say anything!_ "

"I thought you knew!" Taako tried to worm his way out of his sister's grasp, but she wouldn't budge.

"I thought you were in love with Barry."

"Of course I love Barry. We're tight." Taako reached for the stove, "Hey, so, the chicken--"

" _In love,_ Taako." Her grip on him tightened.

"Oh, then no. No, not at all. Not if you paid me." Taako waved over to Barry. "Sorry, Barry."

"It's fine, I wouldn't date you for money either." Barry shrugged and looked over to Lup. "I'm in a pretty good place right now."

"Leave me out of your fucking honeymoon phase, Barold," is what Taako _said,_ but Barry and Lup could tell he was just _ecstatic_ about the entire ordeal.

Lup let go of Taako, embarrassed. He immediately dove down to grab a chicken out of the oven before it burnt, still listening to Lup. "Barry and I decided to keep this on the down-low for a while, just to keep some of the pressure off. You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"Not on my life. Or on my death, either. Not until you're ready." He set the chicken on the counter, as if he wasn't talking about keeping a deep secret from the rest of the crew.  

Barry wasn't expecting Taako to agree so easily. "Really? That's--uh, thanks, Taako."

"He's just excited being in on the secret, don't give him any credit." Lup pushed Taako towards the door. "Go get ready. We need to start putting food out."

"You're just trying to get rid of me so you can make out with your _boyfri_ \--"

"Taako, _GO_!" Lup slammed the door behind him. She ran a hand through her hair, going back over to the food. "I swear, if he's going to be like that this whole time..."

"Should we have kept it from him?"

"I don't keep secrets from my brother, I'm not a fucking animal. It's sweet he's so involved, I guess." She walked around, checking to see if everything in the kitchen was in order. "Oh, and I was completely serious about what I said before. My brother starts getting sweet on someone? I'm going to raise hell. Are you in?"

"You'd let me in on that?" Barry asked as Lup was shoving plates into his arms.

"I'm letting you in on everything I can possibly fit you into." She kept stacking the plates higher.

"Wasn't this supposed to be casual?"

"Secret is different from casual, Barry. I'm bad at casual. Sorry, I'm too emotionally invested in you now." Lup said this in a joking tone, but by the look on her face she was dead serious. She shooed him towards the door, "Can you just set those out on the table?"

"Sure." Barry made his way out, but turned to Lup one last time. "Oh. And. I'm glad you said that, because I don't think I would have been able to keep casual either."

Lup shook her head, holding back a laugh. "Wipe that grin off your face, someone's gonna figure you out!" 

It had been a minute before Lup realized she was just standing absentmindedly in the kitchen. But it felt nice, not having to feel guilty whenever she thought about Barry. Now, she couldn't get the image of him, just, _there._ Right in her arms. Laughing and flirting and being happy in her presence. And it was good to know that he was just as into this as she was. She ran through every excuse in her head, trying to preemptively come up with plausible reasons to be alone with him. 

She couldn't wait until Candlenights was over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about ending it here, but then my brain said "no........one more. there wasn't enough sappy fluff in this one." So next chapter is just a little epilogue that ties this whole thing together. Also.....I do have ideas for like, a companion piece to this where Lup and Barry make good on their promise to make Taako's life a living hell once he starts dating Kravitz. So maybe that's happening soon??? Is anyone up for that? (edit: okay yeah it's definitely happening.)  
> Either way, thanks for reading, you guys!


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup and Barry make things Fantasy Facebook official.

Lup and Barry had come up with the most gorgeous duet for their submission to the mountain. At the beginning of the cycle, when they had learned they needed to make a piece of artwork to obtain the Light of Creation, Barry had asked if Lup wanted to work together with him. It was a big excuse to spend a lot of alone time together, and she knew that. They were able to have long conversations in the middle of the night and not have it seem suspicious.

One night, Lup asked if Barry wanted to go public.

And of course, they had the most beautiful duet. They'd been dating in secret for, oh, twenty years? They had to announce each other with style. The final week of Cycle 47 was a blur for them--something about, they couldn't find the light? Magnus got a pet? Didn't matter. Barry held Lup's hand while the entire Starblaster crew was in the same room, he didn't have to deny being in love with her. He felt like crying the first time Lup called him "babe" in front of their friends.

Davenport rattled on about IPRE regulations, how two coworkers dating in secret was in direct violation of multiple rules. After a ten minute lecture, he laughed and told them it didn't technically matter anymore, and he was glad they were happy.

Lucretia knew already. Lup had vented to her enough during the 25th cycle, she had put the pieces together herself. She pretended to be surprised, but nobody bought it. Barry asked to read the journals from Cycle 25. Lucretia agreed, as long as he filled in some of the blank spaces of the ordeal. When she got the journal back, she laughed at the amount of poor planning and miscommunication between the twins.

Magnus hugged the couple at the same time, almost breaking their backs. He was excited to see them together, rambling on about how they're so lucky to have found each other. Used the word "soulmate" at least four times. Neither of them thought Magnus would believe something like that, but the two looked at each other for a minute before also jumping on the word. Yeah, that's exactly what they were.

Merle offered to _marry_ them, right then and there. They had been dating for twenty years, it's not as if he was rushing anything. When they both declined, Merle immediately launched into an inappropriate conversation that Lup and Barry pushed out of their memory by their own will.

Taako--

Taako was delighted.

Yes, he bragged to everyone else on the Starblaster about being the first person they told ("What? They didn't tell you? Oh....well, hm, wonder why that is."). Barry's opinion held more weight in his mind than it did before. He was so stoked to pull Barry into his and Lup's space. He could read Lup well enough to know when it was time to leave the two of them alone (although he always teased Barry as he left). The two of them were so happy to announce each other, and Taako  _lived_ off of that joy.  

Oh, but Lup did give him hell. Absolutely. Taako was in no position to date anybody long-term during the century, but she definitely found other ways to mess with him. Key point: Barry kept all of the gogurt notes. Yes, the curse lifted on its own when they reformed every year, but it was such a  _daunting_ threat when Lup held it over Taako's head. Although, to minimize any future Candlenights damage, Barry and Lup modified the curse to only work on liquids. A cute reminder of Taako's horrible decisions. 

But, in spite of all that happened, the three of them decided it was worth it. 

They made a pretty great family, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just a short little epilogue to cap this all off! Thanks for everyone that stuck around for this fic! I haven't written any fics in YEARS (not since....maybe, 7 or 8 years ago? I deleted my old a03 because it was Very Yikes) and I'm not entirely sure why I suddenly got the intense urge to pick it up again. But I got bit by the TAZ bug pretty hard.  
> Uhhh, so, I'm almost done with the first chapter of the next part in this series of the twins harassing each other's boyfriends...so expect that pretty soon?  
> Again, thanks everyone!


End file.
